Worrying Woemans

Or woemans worrying the Teutonics.

Due to the other world interference on some of our group, Nash and I were left as the sole players for a week so we christened his new table in his apartment with a game between just us.  In comparasion to the usual location at Bob’s apartment it was a little on the tight side.  Not that that was allowed to to interfere with a game that needed winning (nor will it prevent future games there if required).

Nash was using his beautifully presented Marian Romans which meant I needed to close down the table width and bash him hard before he surrounded me.  For this effect I bought a sea (S).

The plan of smashing our way down beside the sea and then crossing the enemy’s rear was made less appealing by a rough hill beside the sea.  So I deployed (first again – sometimes you don’t want to roll high dice!!) by the sea anyway but with the option to turn and head to the left.

With Nash deploying a mass of Gaulish warband behind the hill the original plan was off.  I’d slowly chew my way through the warband with my massed knights but they are only half ME each and it woud take all game to get through that many, all the time with the knights unable to fight and do damage elsewhere.

As this was played a few weeks ago, the week following the Russian expedition (see here) the detailed memory has faded somewhat, so what follows is the comic book version of events.

The Teutonics deploy first trying to use the sea to secure a flank despite the shrubby hill nearby.

The woemans counter by also playing to the sea side but place a suicidal bunch of knight obsorbing warband behind the hill in a effort to prevent the Teutonic knights making an early break through.

The Teutonics use PiPs and manuouverability to try and avoid the sticky warbands.
The woemans are just as manouverable and shadow the Teutonics.  

The warband charge forcing the Teutonics to react and engage.   The Teutonics advance to force the Numbians to react but the woemans then send the cavalry against the knight wedges as the best option to not be killed quickly.
The lone inferior elephant becomes conspicuous.

The elephant takes over the PiPs, the rest of the command becoming ineffective except for warbands on autopilot.
It goes hunting knights in the table centre. 

The elephants goes on the rampage.  The crossbowmen coming up in support of the knights proved ineffectual in removing the support troops and the knights started to fall.

When not engaged by elephants the superior knights in wedge proved resilient.  This general survived a few bounds in this position before finally being destroyed.

By the sea the legionaires made hard work of the hordes and light horse.
Final count, two hordes traded for two blades.

Final Positions - Teutonics lost by having two knight commands break from damage inflicted by the elephant and by being surrounded.

Game over.  Well done Nash, the woemans were used as they should be and the PiPs given to the elephant were the correct choice.

Lessons learnt - have a plan to deal with even inferior elephants and don't try and out manouver an even more manouverable enemy.  The difference on 40p in movement between knights and cavalry becomes quite marked over march moves and multiple bounds.